September 27, 2024 • 7 mins
Sustainable living doesn’t just benefit the world around you, but it can also have benefits for mental health.
Kate ‘Ethically Kate’ Hall joined Jack Tame to run through a few of the benefits that come with living more sustainably.
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack Team podcast
from News Talks.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
That'd be in time to catch up with our sustainability commentator,
Kate Hall aka Ethically Kate more Dinna Molena. How's it
going very well? Thank you very well. Hey, this morning,
we're taking a closer look at the benefits of living
more sustainably, not just on the Earth, but on your
mental health. So because the thing is that, yeah, being
a bit more sustainable, you reckon, isn't just good for
(00:33):
the planet Earth, it's good for our heads as well.
So let's run through some of the key benefits as
you see them. Why would you say that living more
sustainably is better for your mental health?
Speaker 3 (00:47):
So I can only obviously speak from my own personal experience,
and it's very topical being Mental Health Awareness Week. It
always reminds me. Yeah, it always reminds me when I think,
you know, what are the things are the good for
my mental health? You know what when do I feel best?
And they're always sustainable living habits. And I think Austin
took about sustainable living is you know it takes something away,
(01:09):
or it's a strain and your mental health, or you
know it can be a real kind of downer chat
about it. But but having lived you know, my lived
reality is that just a few kind of the main
things and hopefully other people probably have a long list too.
But slowing down, I think for me that whole awareness
piece around, Okay, like where is my food from? Like
(01:31):
why am I going to buy this? What? You know?
What am I doing? Am I doing this just because
everyone else does this? Or am I doing this because
it is good for the planet? It is good for me.
I've definitely felt that that, Yeah, there's benefits of slowing
down and reconnecting and asking about your why is so
much better You're not just in this kind of rat
(01:53):
race of I'm just going to do this because there
I've got to you know, I've got to do this
because my friend brought that at the moll and I
got to go, you know, like you slow down and
you're kind of you have For me, I just find
the kind of it's mindful. There's mind yeah, yeah, yeah,
And I think you know, when we think about sustainable
(02:13):
living too, you can't kind of really cann extoicate what's
better for for the planet without spending time outside. Right, So,
for a lot of people you know, I spend a
lot more time outside having living more sustainably because you know,
I'll ride my bike. The other day, I was like, oh,
it's a little bit cloudy and I've got to get
(02:34):
quite a few things, so maybe I'll take the car.
And I was kind of rationalizing taking the car took place,
but you know, it's probably only seven comters away, So
I ended up taking my bike, and honestly, I came
back feeling so much better mentally, like in my in
my spirits, just from having been outside and the fresh air.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
Like people preaching converted on that one, I just I reckon,
like I reckon, there is so much to be said
for just feeling the elements on your face. Yeah, so
writing or or walking to work, even if it's not
a very good day, it's so good. It kind of
(03:14):
especially if you've got to go to work and it's
kind of part of your commute, it just helps you.
It really helps you kind of reset and refresh at
the end of the day. You know, I could say
I think it's.
Speaker 3 (03:22):
Great totally, it's so so good. I think also, you know,
if you think about kind of the key sustainable living
elements is it's less living life alone, you find yourself
more in spaces of shared community and with people. You know,
if you think about like the Auckland Library of Tools,
you know, people are there to get a tool, to
(03:43):
borrow it so they don't have to you know, buy it,
or they could even borrow it, so they are testing
it out first, and they're going there to engage with
those people there rather than just kind of an individual
moment at a shop. I even think about like repair
cafes and the connections I see there. People bring kai,
they share it. You know, they come away with a
fixed item, but they also come away with that sense
(04:05):
of community and kind of resilience, which I think unless
you're having a really bad day and you don't want
to talk to anyone, which you know, I'm not saying
I always want to talk to people too, but you generally.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
Come away with atia benefit as well. You feel you
feel part of a community. That I reckon that's a
few one. Can we can not set one up?
Speaker 3 (04:27):
Yeah, that's good And I think probably the kind of
final key one is when you're living more sustainably, like
it can feel you know, you're doing all these little
actions right and they're not necessarily changing the world. But
you're you're by doing those actions, you're showing yourself. No,
I actually can make a difference. I actually can do something,
(04:48):
and I'm actually choosing to do something, no matter how
big of a difference it's going to make. And I
think in a world where you know, there's all this
negative news and everything feels heavy and it can just, yeah,
feel quite defeateous understanding that you can make a difference
in combating eco anxiety by doing all these little sustainable things.
(05:08):
It's just so so helpful from mental health rather than
that paralyzed kind of well, I can't do anything, so
I'm just gonna not you know.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
That, Dair. Yeah, do you think that's a generational thing? Like,
do you think that younger people in particular, you know,
are more inclined to feel like kind of a bit
of a state of despair about the climate and about
you know, other kind of geopolitical things and war and
that kind of stuff, or you know, do you think that,
(05:38):
you know, people of different generations can get that same benefit.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
I think I think all generations can get the same benefits.
But I do think, you know, even from interviews and
research out there, there is younger generations are feeling a
lot more because you know, they are kind of new
to this planet and looking at the trajectory of what
their kind of adult lives will look like. And I
think there's a lot more kind of education and awareness
(06:03):
now in our schools and media around. It's that we
you know, we need to be acting and we need
to be doing better. So that's kind of, yeah, potentially
a bit more weighted from the younger generations. But you know,
I see and you know, even my parents who do
some great kind of sustainable living elements of their life,
(06:24):
and I think, you know, for them, that helps them
feel better mentally about knowing okay, you know, for future
generations and you know, for families you know and beyond, they'll, yeah,
they feel they'll feel better like they're doing something rather
than kind of letting your mental health just kind of
slide into this pit of despair, which I have exactly
(06:46):
being practive and you know I have my days, right,
We all have our days where you can just feel
bit yeah heavy, But honestly, what gets me out of
it is knowing, you know, I can actually do something.
And even if you know, we find out that none
of us this does matter. At least it's making my
mental health feel better, and at least it is making
the you know so, even my own small world to
(07:08):
get to play.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
Yeah, very good, Hey, thank you so much, Kate. You
can find Kate Hall on all of the social media platforms.
She has a raging Instagram account, not as an angry,
just as an active and good and so you can
find it by searching ethically Kate. And of course everything
from our show, all the good stuff, all of our recommendations,
film picks and music reviews, TV shows to watch and stream,
(07:30):
all of that goes to News Talk SHDB, dot co,
dot nzed forward slash jack pretty simple website. Ay, We've
try and put everything up there just as soon as
it's been on the radio.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame, listen live
to News Talks dB from nine am Saturday, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack Team podcast
from News Talks.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
That'd be in time to catch up with our sustainability commentator,
Kate Hall aka Ethically Kate more Dinna Molena. How's it
going very well? Thank you very well. Hey, this morning,
we're taking a closer look at the benefits of living
more sustainably, not just on the Earth, but on your
mental health. So because the thing is that, yeah, being
a bit more sustainable, you reckon, isn't just good for
(00:33):
the planet Earth, it's good for our heads as well.
So let's run through some of the key benefits as
you see them. Why would you say that living more
sustainably is better for your mental health?
Speaker 3 (00:47):
So I can only obviously speak from my own personal experience,
and it's very topical being Mental Health Awareness Week. It
always reminds me. Yeah, it always reminds me when I think,
you know, what are the things are the good for
my mental health? You know what when do I feel best?
And they're always sustainable living habits. And I think Austin
took about sustainable living is you know it takes something away,
(01:09):
or it's a strain and your mental health, or you
know it can be a real kind of downer chat
about it. But but having lived you know, my lived
reality is that just a few kind of the main
things and hopefully other people probably have a long list too.
But slowing down, I think for me that whole awareness
piece around, Okay, like where is my food from? Like
(01:31):
why am I going to buy this? What? You know?
What am I doing? Am I doing this just because
everyone else does this? Or am I doing this because
it is good for the planet? It is good for me.
I've definitely felt that that, Yeah, there's benefits of slowing
down and reconnecting and asking about your why is so
much better You're not just in this kind of rat
(01:53):
race of I'm just going to do this because there
I've got to you know, I've got to do this
because my friend brought that at the moll and I
got to go, you know, like you slow down and
you're kind of you have For me, I just find
the kind of it's mindful. There's mind yeah, yeah, yeah,
And I think you know, when we think about sustainable
(02:13):
living too, you can't kind of really cann extoicate what's
better for for the planet without spending time outside. Right, So,
for a lot of people you know, I spend a
lot more time outside having living more sustainably because you know,
I'll ride my bike. The other day, I was like, oh,
it's a little bit cloudy and I've got to get
(02:34):
quite a few things, so maybe I'll take the car.
And I was kind of rationalizing taking the car took place,
but you know, it's probably only seven comters away, So
I ended up taking my bike, and honestly, I came
back feeling so much better mentally, like in my in
my spirits, just from having been outside and the fresh air.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
Like people preaching converted on that one, I just I reckon,
like I reckon, there is so much to be said
for just feeling the elements on your face. Yeah, so
writing or or walking to work, even if it's not
a very good day, it's so good. It kind of
(03:14):
especially if you've got to go to work and it's
kind of part of your commute, it just helps you.
It really helps you kind of reset and refresh at
the end of the day. You know, I could say
I think it's.
Speaker 3 (03:22):
Great totally, it's so so good. I think also, you know,
if you think about kind of the key sustainable living
elements is it's less living life alone, you find yourself
more in spaces of shared community and with people. You know,
if you think about like the Auckland Library of Tools,
you know, people are there to get a tool, to
(03:43):
borrow it so they don't have to you know, buy it,
or they could even borrow it, so they are testing
it out first, and they're going there to engage with
those people there rather than just kind of an individual
moment at a shop. I even think about like repair
cafes and the connections I see there. People bring kai,
they share it. You know, they come away with a
fixed item, but they also come away with that sense
(04:05):
of community and kind of resilience, which I think unless
you're having a really bad day and you don't want
to talk to anyone, which you know, I'm not saying
I always want to talk to people too, but you generally.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
Come away with atia benefit as well. You feel you
feel part of a community. That I reckon that's a
few one. Can we can not set one up?
Speaker 3 (04:27):
Yeah, that's good And I think probably the kind of
final key one is when you're living more sustainably, like
it can feel you know, you're doing all these little
actions right and they're not necessarily changing the world. But
you're you're by doing those actions, you're showing yourself. No,
I actually can make a difference. I actually can do something,
(04:48):
and I'm actually choosing to do something, no matter how
big of a difference it's going to make. And I
think in a world where you know, there's all this
negative news and everything feels heavy and it can just, yeah,
feel quite defeateous understanding that you can make a difference
in combating eco anxiety by doing all these little sustainable things.
(05:08):
It's just so so helpful from mental health rather than
that paralyzed kind of well, I can't do anything, so
I'm just gonna not you know.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
That, Dair. Yeah, do you think that's a generational thing? Like,
do you think that younger people in particular, you know,
are more inclined to feel like kind of a bit
of a state of despair about the climate and about
you know, other kind of geopolitical things and war and
that kind of stuff, or you know, do you think that,
(05:38):
you know, people of different generations can get that same benefit.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
I think I think all generations can get the same benefits.
But I do think, you know, even from interviews and
research out there, there is younger generations are feeling a
lot more because you know, they are kind of new
to this planet and looking at the trajectory of what
their kind of adult lives will look like. And I
think there's a lot more kind of education and awareness
(06:03):
now in our schools and media around. It's that we
you know, we need to be acting and we need
to be doing better. So that's kind of, yeah, potentially
a bit more weighted from the younger generations. But you know,
I see and you know, even my parents who do
some great kind of sustainable living elements of their life,
(06:24):
and I think, you know, for them, that helps them
feel better mentally about knowing okay, you know, for future
generations and you know, for families you know and beyond, they'll, yeah,
they feel they'll feel better like they're doing something rather
than kind of letting your mental health just kind of
slide into this pit of despair, which I have exactly
(06:46):
being practive and you know I have my days, right,
We all have our days where you can just feel
bit yeah heavy, But honestly, what gets me out of
it is knowing, you know, I can actually do something.
And even if you know, we find out that none
of us this does matter. At least it's making my
mental health feel better, and at least it is making
the you know so, even my own small world to
(07:08):
get to play.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
Yeah, very good, Hey, thank you so much, Kate. You
can find Kate Hall on all of the social media platforms.
She has a raging Instagram account, not as an angry,
just as an active and good and so you can
find it by searching ethically Kate. And of course everything
from our show, all the good stuff, all of our recommendations,
film picks and music reviews, TV shows to watch and stream,
(07:30):
all of that goes to News Talk SHDB, dot co,
dot nzed forward slash jack pretty simple website. Ay, We've
try and put everything up there just as soon as
it's been on the radio.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame, listen live
to News Talks dB from nine am Saturday, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio
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